Audio-Technica AT4050URUSHI
A 50th-anniversary condenser dressed in hand-painted Japanese maple leaves - the rare case where the finish and the etching are the whole story.
Overview
Audio-Technica marked its 50th anniversary with a cluster of limited-edition releases. The AT4050URUSHI sat at the top of that group. The difference from a garden-variety multi-pattern condenser is cosmetic. The body is finished with hand-painted Japanese maple leaves, and each microphone carries a unique serial number etched into it to commemorate the occasion. Mix (2012, p.29) described the anniversary line as offering "stunningly clear, high-resolution sound and elegant design," and singled out the AT4050URUSHI as the flagship of the range, with the maple-leaf finish leading the commemorative lineup.
Underneath the lacquer, the AT4050URUSHI is a multi-pattern condenser microphone. The period advertising and the product listings in Mix (2012, p.19) confirm that much. They place it alongside the AT4050/LE multi-pattern condenser and the AE5400/LE cardioid vocal condenser as part of the same 50th-anniversary family. Multi-pattern is the only functional spec the sources pin down. The specific polar patterns, frequency response, sensitivity, and self-noise figures are not documented in the material available here, so anyone chasing a spec sheet will need the original Audio-Technica literature. What can be said is that the AT4050URUSHI was built as a commemorative object first and a working tool second. It is the kind of microphone a studio buys to mark an occasion, not to fill a rack.
Audio-Technica's own advertising billed the line as "50 years of passionate listening," and the AT4050URUSHI was the visual centerpiece of that campaign.
As a collectible, the AT4050URUSHI sits in an unusual spot. It is a limited-edition anniversary model from a major manufacturer, which gives it a built-in constituency. But the documentation available here does not include original pricing, production quantities, or current secondary-market values. Treat any listing that claims a specific rarity figure or a firm market price with skepticism unless the seller can produce the original Audio-Technica announcement. The safer read is that the URUSHI is a desirable commemorative piece whose value tracks the broader 50th-anniversary line rather than standing apart from it.
Audio-Technica chose to mark its history with a finish rather than a redesign. The AT4050URUSHI is a multi-pattern condenser in the AT4050 tradition, wrapped in hand-painted maple leaves and stamped with a unique serial number. No published specifications survive in the available record, so comparing it on paper isn't possible. It was sold on the finish, the anniversary, and the etching.
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